Importing from USA to UK 2020

[Goblinking]

Hello all,i am new here and i have just bought my first Mopar,a 1974 Challenger,totally standard.
I searched on here but couldn't find the info i need,so i'm hoping someone can clear something up.
I am using CFR Rinkens to ship the car over to Milton keynes,and its going in a container,do i absolutely need insurance if its safely locked in a container?
After the car arrives in the UK,because of it's age,do i have to go through any inspections,change rear lights,put on a fog light etc?
If someone can kindly step by step me through the whole process i would greatly appreciate it.
I have never imported before,and the death of a friend has kick started me on this journey and my anxiety levels are just below the redline,in case i balls this up.
Thank you in advance,any help is most welcome.

[SAV@RPM]

It’s a fairly straightforward process. Personally I would insure it, they normally offer total loss or damage in transit, I would certainly want to insure against damage. It’s not unknown for cars to break lose in the container during a bad storm. Once the car is here and you have paid any duties due the car will be registered on the NOVA system and issued with a number which you will need to register the vehicle. I would recommend getting an mot even though the car does not require one because of its age. This puts the vin number on the system and often it won’t need to be inspected as a result. If you have the original US title the DVLA will use it to verify the age and issue an age related registration number or you can get a letter from Matt in the club to verify it’s age. The most important thing is to fill in the V55 form correctly, a lot of the questions are non applicable to an older vehicle. It sounds more complicated than it is but you’ll get plenty of help from the club if needed. Hope this helps.

[Blue]

You should be able to request a V55 online, do that now. In normal times you could just call the DVLA and they are surprisingly helpful. Once you have the car you can insure it using the VIN number, get it MOT'd and then send your paperwork off and you get issued a V5c Log book. Assuming you have a US title, be sure to take a good colour copy because they don't often send you the original back.

[Goblinking]

Thank you both,i'll post back about how i get on.

[RobTwin]

I cant help much as I've only imported 1 car, 16 years ago, and that was handled from door to door by Tony O, but since then I've heard many times, mainly from Ron at STS Imports, how any containers are lost at sea each year, so yes, I'd say insurance is necessary!

Hope it all goes well for you tho and look forward to reading more about it

[MattH]

I'd definitely insure it, many containers fall off boats, and Ive seen terrible damage done in containers, sometimes by how they are loaded, with other stuff on top.

[guy whitwam]

A big yes to insurance , have imported 6 cars from the US and I have been lucky ………….. bar one !
A 1972 Olds 442 convertible , seems it was not tied down correctly in containers , moved whilst inside and damaged all the left hand side , and insurance did pay out , eventually .
Have heard some horror stories of containers being washed off ships , delivered to the incorrect port ( and yes that did happen to one of my cars ) , and mishandling whilst being unloaded in this country .
For what it costs it is a must and hopefully you will never have to claim , but have been there and done that !
yours
GUY

[Faux-7-0]

Not that I've actually imported anything, I'd certainly take the insurance option.

There is a Marine Insurance principle called General Average which basically means that if the vessel gets into difficulty and needs to jettison some containers to save the rest of the cargo and the ship, the cost of the lost containers is shared between everyone participating in that voyage. So, despite the fact that your container may actually arrive safely, you may still have a financial obligation in this scenario.

[mopar_mark]

When I used to work, we often lost stuff at sea, I remember 2 incidents whereby the containers were dumped overboard.Once we Llost 2 Brand new moulding machines on route to Brazil, approx value $1 million.

When my mate was starting a limo company, during shipment of his limo, TVs, Music Centre, Decanters, basically anything else that wasn’t bolted down was stolen ...

So takes everyone’s advice & get insurance.

[Goblinking]

Thanks everyone,insurance is definitely getting bought.

[Steve]

I had marine insurance on my New Yorker that came in from Texas. Thank God, windscreen was smashed to pieces. The shipper tried to make me pay £450 excess on a £650 screen. Miraculously, after pointing out that if the shipper didnt pay up (my contract was with them, not the actual freight company) I would pursue the uninsured loss through the courts, they paid most of it as a 'gesture of good will'. Funny that...

Insurance, every time

[Dave999]

yes
i've only imported one

id suggest you get copies of the keys made and keep the orginals

my car arrived with wing mirror in the car
scratch down the door
and all locked up with the keys inside.
They'd levered out the top of the drivers window (no damage) and posted them in 1 by one!!!!! ?

the towed it out of the container with the handbrake and steering lock on across the yard...

other than that it was ok
scratch polished out
and if they had just had a nail file or screw driver they could have opened it.

mine came in a 20 footer with a floor built half way up with all of our worldly possessions on top i.e dining table 3 peice suite etc etc

i'd say insurance is very necessary.

you do hear the odd rumour about cars being abused by bored seamen... usually RORO, new tyres when it was loaded no tread when it arrives, bent steering arms and the arches full of melted rubber dust.... might just be an old wives tale. but i guess you can still do some damage with the cupfull of fuel left in the tank

take photos before taking ownership if suspicious

[Steve]

And get the previous owner to take lots of good quality detailed photos of every aspect of the car as its loaded onto the truck when collected. These pics are your reference for any claim. Also, if any damage, take photos of the damage as its unloaded from the delivery truck at home or in the customs warehouse. You will need evidence go prove where the damage occurred

[Trigger_Andy]

I shipped a 1970 Superbee (B5 Blue) from the US to Norway RoRo. When it got to me the shipping goons had tried to open the bonnet, from the screen side. :/ Some roid raged gimp did a great job of buckling the hood right outta shape.

[Pete]

I have had 3 cars damaged via the Shipping Process.

The thing about insurance is the small print.
On the last car they damaged the roof double by stacking in the Container for cost effectiveness.

The Excess was so high it was not worth claiming. Really Peed off as it was a pretty spotless car.
Importers were not interested....

Two other cars were shunted with forklifts,

The first had the front fender stove in - a survivor car that required a complete respray....

The second had been lifted by a forklift and it folded up the exhausts, Rockers and generally made a mess of the pan. Elated.....